The Upbringing of Patrik Tallinder [2/2]

[Patrik Tallinder 1,087]

 

The Upbringing of Patrik Tallinder

Born in 2002, Patrik Tallinder came from a wealthy family who resided in Stockholm, Sweden. His family consisted of his mother, Alice Talinder, his father, Oscar Tallinder, and his two younger brothers, Lucas and Nils. Given that neither of his parents played hockey growing up, Patrik’s decision to play marked the beginning of a life they could have never seen coming. Constant travel, lots of spending, and hours upon hours at the rink was just the start for the Tallinders, not only for Patrik, but for his 2 brothers who followed in his footsteps.

 

The Three Tallinder brothers, Lucas (Left), Patrik (Center), and Nils (Right)

 

Hockey started out as a hobby to play with his friends, Liam and Theo. His competitive nature and raw talent made him quickly surpass all his peers, so it was at the mere age of 10 he started playing hitting hockey, going against 11 and 12 year old kids. His brother Lucas, who was just a year younger than him, was finding even more success than he was, playing on the same team as him at just 9. Nils was just starting out, but he quickly surpassed the level of most other kids his age because of his constant practice with his brothers at home.

 

A Huge Shift

Their parents noticed their abnormal skillsets, and decided to move from Sweden to Canada in 2015 to give the boys an opportunity to play tougher competition and pursue hockey as a career. Patrik says that he owes all his success to his family for their time and commitment to bettering his life. Despite all the positives of moving to North America, there were certainly hurdles to overcome, such as the language barrier, and the adjustment to the smaller rinks.This wasn’t easy for the young man, and he had his fair share of issues adapting to the new culture inside and outside of the rink.

 

The Tallinder boys adapted just about as well as they could have, and got back to dominating on the ice pretty quickly, playing at St. Andrews College, a high level prep school in Ontario. They attracted attention from scouts whenever they played, and impressed the coaches so much that their head coach called them “two of the most talented hockey players [he’s] ever had the pleasure of coaching.” 

 

Disaster Strikes

Everything was going perfectly as planned for Patrik and Lucas, and Nils was even dominating his age group in minor hockey. This all changed in the blink of an eye when Patrik and Lucas got in a taxi after going to the gym one night. As they approached the top of a hill on a two-way highway, they suspected nothing. In a split second, a pickup truck was illegally passing another car in the other lane and drove head on into the taxi. Luckily enough for everyone involved, they all survived the crash. But unfortunately, Lucas was paralyzed from the waist down, and lost the ability to play hockey from that point on. Patrik came away with nothing more than minor injuries, and the two drivers each got concussions of varying severity, among other minor injuries.

 

Patrik Tallinder after the accident.

Moving Forward

This event changed everything for Patrik,as his whole life, he and Lucas were intertwined with each other in everything they did. They were looked at as “The Tallinder Brothers.” Now Patrik was alone, knowing little English and being more of a quiet guy to begin with. Rather than sulking in the loss of his brother always being at the rink, he made it his mission to accomplish everything he and Lucas wanted to before the accident, and more. While he was always praised for his work ethic, it then became second to no one. He scored wherever he went, and found ways around all kinds of defensemen. It seemed he had no weaknesses.

 

The world was taking notice, especially his native country, Sweden. He was invited to play at a higher level, the SuperElit, for Djurgårdens IF U20 team. He quickly took the opportunity to face tougher competition and return home to his friends and relatives. Once again, he impressed as a 16 year old in the Swedish junior league, and has garnered attention from VHLM scouts. His goal has always been to win the Continental Cup, and now it’s beginning to seem like a real possibility for the young man.

Patrik Tallinder playing for Djurgardens IF U20 team.

What’s Ahead

Patrik Tallinder seems to thrive in whatever situation he is put in. He seems to have dealt well with the spotlight solely on him since his brother’s unfortunate accident, and wants to fulfill the dreams that he and Lucas once shared. Patrik plans to be drafted into the VHLM, then the VHL, and then take home the Continental Cup to Lucas and his family in Stockholm.

 

For Lucas, life has obviously been turned upside down for him, but he has made it his goal to make the most of what he has left. He hopes to one day help others in similar situations to his own, committing to studying psychology in university. He has also recently picked up sledge hockey, and says that it brings him the same rush that hockey used to. His brothers success makes him happy, and can’t wait to see him lift the cup they envisioned lifting together as children.

 

Nils is now 14 years old, and is already as big as Patrik, and even taller than Lucas. His size and speed have allowed him to utterly dominate his peers, and has been creating some buzz around his own name in the hockey community. He hopes to one day play with Patrik, but that remains to be seen whether it could happen or not.

 

The Tallinder family is one of a hard working, determined, and immensely talented background. Their parents are so proud of each of their children, and have no regrets in all the money and time they put into helping them reach their goals.

 

Patrik Tallinder playing in the U17 World Championship.

[Ricer13 2,795]

Review: . Great Bio. I liked the use of your pictures to help illustrate the story you were telling about your player. Tragedy always makes a story more compelling and you did a great job implementing that with the car accident.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Krice13

[Kekzkrieg 160]

Review: Good to see that Patrik kept Lucas in mind on his path towards a professional hockey career. Nothing says more about an older sibling than to stand (literally) up for his younger ones and going all the way wtih them in mind. Well written and great detail in telling about Patrik's value in his family. Looking forward in hearing more about Patrik!